Miraculous Mask Online
by magi06rose
Summary: Adrien just wanted to escape from the bindings of being part of the Agreste family. He didn't expect that the new VR game he got would trap him in it until someone clears the game. Join him as he gets stronger while meeting an interesting group of people including a rapping bar manager, a blacksmith reporter, and a beautiful (and dangerous) spotted warrior.
1. Chapter 1

SAO (Sword Art Online) AU, with elements from SAO, yet not really SAO (a least... I tried).

* * *

.

.

.

You know. I would have never had thought this would all be real, and I still don't. I didn't expect it… they never expected it… none of us expected it to happen.

-sigh- When all you wanted in your life was to play one game, just **one** game, and to be free from all the stress you've attained in desperate need of attention from the people you love… but then it suddenly turns into your worst nightmare and prison for what - 1 and a half months now.

… and all in one day.

It probably would have been the worst day of my life. Actually, with everything that has happened to me till now, I should have just jumped from the farthest edge of this floating- no, wait… I should have just take off my mask.

…

Haha- Yeah, you heard me. That'll surely give me a quick and painful death; no more taunts and food being thrown at you, or having to take long dark paths just to avoid people. I should have just take off **this blasted mask that sadistic game creator gave us months ago**!

...oh nevermind. I'll just be a coward… I can't abandon them. Not after all we've been through. At least they have it better than me, right?

…

…'Stop?' What?! What do you mean 'what so important about the mask' and 'why is it better than jumping off a virtual floating island'? Don't tell me… you don't know what I'm talking about do you?

…

-Sigh- Fine, I guess I'll tell you then. I'll give you the quick and easy story instead of a long and boring flashback scenes TV and web shows often dramatize.

Listen up fellow readers: **This. Is. A. Game.**

Yup, a game, and not just any game. We are in Miraculous Masks Online.

Yeah, I know - the MMO is shortened as 'MMO.' Funny right? At least the game creator had a sense of humor.

MMO is essentially a fantasy MMORPG that's set on this ginormous floating island with no magic spells or wizardry. Everyone fights using melee and long range weapons like swords or bows, and try to be the strongest player or the strongest guild of the game - you know, like any other MMORPG.

The only exception which can be considered magic, but not always, were our masks. They are the first item given to us and grant us a special skill based on the survey they give you after logging in, and trust me I've yet to seen the same skill in 2 different people.

The powers of the mask can be categorized into 3 categories: **enchantment** grants buffs or debuffs on yourself or opponents, **power** gives you a powerful one-use fighting ability, and **tactician** lets you change elements of your surroundings but not onto your opponents, yourself or your allies.

Most players have power masks which have the shortest activation time period, while enchantment masks take the longest to activate, but give players in parties a high advantage if used right, and tactician masks not only have a short range of effect but most abilities under tactician aren't useful in battle. Tactician mask wielders tend to be like shopkeepers or blacksmiths, so you rarely get to see them in the battlefield.

…

Hmm~ which one is my mask? Nah! I'll talk about me later. Don't want to ruin the surprise. -wink-

…

Not charmed. That's fine. Too bad for you then.

Anyways, MMO was the first game to be developed and released to the public as an MMORPG in virtual reality. Everyone was hyped about it - heck, even I was baited into this evil virtual world… then came its newest update.

While we were all having fun exploring the new expansion after the servers opened, he came… The game creator known as Hawkmoth.

No one was able to log out, and when people realized it Hawkmoth summoned every player to the town center. He is keeping us all logged in unless we can find him on the highest floor, the 100th floor, and kill him. Furthermore, if we were to be killed in battle, let our HP drop to zero, jump off the island, or take off our masks, we would die.

…

How do we know? Who knows, but no one wants to die right?

Hawkmoth told us that if we were to disappear from this world before we could complete the game, the feedback would activate something in our VR helmets and self destruct. Everyone got scared from uncertainty, and those that left never came back with help or anything, so we keep trying to survive each day here while hoping our bodies are ok in the real world.

…

Me? 'Am I scared?' Well… I guess at first, but then slowly I just… I don't know.

I just want to be who I want to be. I don't care if I'm able to go back; no one needs me over there...

Heh- ironically, it's the same here though. If there's anyone you can be in this world, I can assure you don't want to be in my shoes.

…

Hm? 'Then why are you still here?'

What are you… Oh, because of earlier. Right…

Maybe I could have jumped or remove this piece of clothing off my face already, then I wouldn't be where I am now… However, I later thought of the people here that I have met. People I could call 'friends' for the first time.

There are times when I do want to leave like a while ago, but I can't just disappear if they need me. Who knows? Maybe I may even know them in the real world since it's an unspoken rule around here to not speak of your true self in the real world.

...

It's stupid, I know, but people never really identify themselves in online games anyways except to people you know in real life. I mean, our enemies might even be amongst ourselves rather than the monsters out there.

Plus… there's someone I'd like to meet again.

I only saw her once, after I met this cool dude named beatDJ (I just call him Dj). She stood out with her red cape and dark blue hair amongst a field of purple lilacs. Before I left with Dj to help him with the gameplay, I briefly saw her turn towards me… and I saw those pretty bluebell eyes… they were so beautiful.

…

Yeah, call me a sap as many times as you like. I don't care.

Hmm… N-No, I don't like her! I just want to meet her again if possible, that's all! Sheesh you're so pushy!

Now that I think about it, I think I met her again somewhere…

 _*Thump**Thump*_

Huh? W-What's happening? Why am I getting dizzy all of a sudden?

…

W-Wha? Who… am I?

…

Heh- how rude of me. I've yet to tell you my name, did I? Sorry, I'm-

...

* * *

Within a forest was a man with blonde hair and fair skin, unconscious in the middle of the only sun spot of the area. Clouds had hid the sun until this moment, and when they opened the light awakened the man, revealing a set of hazy emerald eyes surrounded by his black mask.

"Ugh- w-what happened?" He sat up as he rubbed his head in confusion and pain.

As his head cleared up, he made a mental note of his surroundings, which was within a sea of trees where the light shone on the spot he sat in.

He also took note of his appearance: a monochrome black outfit comprised of a trench coat, shirt, pants and boots with distinguishable grey highlights on the sides of his coat and pants. He moved his hand up to touch his mask, frantically touching its edges in disbelief, before moving it again to the top and felt the basic, cat eared shaped cloth attached.

Afterwards, he slowly moved his hand and swiped down in empty air, revealing a light purple pop-up menu similar to an RPG game. Seeing this made the man sigh and slump in defeat.

'Guess it wasn't a dream after all. I'm still in the game. Although, I felt like I was talking to someone, but I can't remember.'

He scratched the back of his head in deep thought when a drop of water touched the tip of his nose. The boy looked up and felt the oncoming drizzle of water calmly making down to the earth, yet he couldn't make out any clouds in the sky.

'Hmm? A sun shower?'

The boy kept looking up until his ears twitched at the sudden sound of bushes bristling ahead. He turned his head and found his two steel daggers, maneuvering quickly into a defensive position with the blades in his hands.

"Who goes there?! Show yourselves!"

Nothing came out till a few moments later; a figure of red walked a few steps towards him with no weapon on hand. He couldn't see who it was because of the red cape until they brought it down and his eyes widened, remembering the same girl a while ago of dark blue hair in pigtails with bluebell eyes and a red mask with black spots. The girl watches him gaping at her and giggles to herself.

"I guess that's the thanks I get for saving your butt back there huh? Still asleep there, Chat Noir?"

"Ah… H-h-hello again Ladybug."


	2. Chapter 2

Thus the two come together. Laughter, angst, and some fluff ensured.

* * *

The two players walked out of the forest into an open grass field. Ladybug looked annoyed with her arms crossed, while Chat Noir, on the other hand, was pleading to the girl ahead of him.

"Please forgive me already my lady. I didn't mean to, I swear."

"I told you if you ever get into any danger, you should call for me. It's easy enough to at least notify me in battle since we've formed a party, so stop diving into danger all on your own Chat. What would have happened if my path wasn't a dead end and I didn't go back for you?"

"I know. I thought I could handle it."

"And you forgot those wolves were capable of ambushing us players."

"I didn't! I just didn't think there would be more than one party."

"I could have gone to you in an instant with teleportation Chat! That's also a benefit of being in a party!"

"That's why you're the smart one amongst us my lady."

"One - I'm not your lady" Ladybug remarks, holding up a finger before going into two, "And two - you were the one who told me about party formations."

"...Oh… Again, that's why you're the smart one, _my lady._ " Chat adds a wink to his defeat, making his partner roll her eyes as they continue their trek back to town.

Over a month has passed since everyone was trapped in MMO, and all players were still stuck in level, or rather **floor 1**. Chat Noir, a little over a month ago, had actually met the girl he wanted to meet again, Ladybug, in a similar situation to his mistakes from a while ago.

Whilst walking around one of the many dungeons of the floor, the black masked player came across her fighting a group of golems, and he decided to intervene when one of the golems was about to striker her from behind. He then helped her escape back to town where he learned she joined the searching group for the floor dungeon, and decided to tag along since he himself was helping to look as well.

"Too bad we haven't found anything yet. Hopefully the other parties are luckier than us" Ladybug adds.

"Perhaps my bad luck and your good luck have cancelled each other out" Chat grins.

"Hahaha, just because you're a 'black cat' and I'm a 'ladybug.' How smooth Chat." Ladybug sarcastically answers.

"Well, my player name is 4_chatNOIR, and 4 in some countries isn't a lucky number. Coincidentally the 8 in your player name, coccinelle8, is lucky."

"Like you said, just a coincidence. I had to have something other than coccinelle since that was taken."

"Aw, and I thought it represented something to you. Like if it was your birth month or something?"

"Hmm, maybe. Did you mean to choose '4'?"

"Of course: 'for' Chat Noir, to you I'll be, my lady." Chat suavely picks up Ladybug's hand and kisses, but she pulls away and pokes his forehead.

"Enough messing around Chat. Let's keep going before it gets dark. We don't want another ambush again."

"What? Not 'claw-ver' enough? Then how about a dinner and a 'mewvie' for two when we ascend the new floor?"

* * *

With more groaning and puns along the way, the two made their way into the nearest town possible. As the sun almost set, street lamps began to lit up and less and less people roam around the streets. Only Ladybug and Chat Noir were left to enter the vicinity.

"Wow, it seems empty over here huh Ladybug?"

"It's still a bit early I guess, but maybe other players are still in the dungeons. Most players still insist on staying in the starting town however. Not many of people, and even within the searching group, have a lot of faith like we do."

"...Then more reason to find the floor dungeon. Even if we can't, there are still others like us looking for it. It's not like _we_ have to find it."

"Chat-"

"After all, either way, we'll make it to the second floor, so smile my lady. Kay?"

"...Silly cat."

"I'm a man you know. 14 years of this devilish charm"

"Hahaha, right" Ladybug tiredly says, but smiles nonetheless. "What a coincidence though - I'm 14 years old as well."

"I see, you're 14 too… WAIT, REALLY?!"

"C'mon, let's get to the inn already" Ladybug answers instead as she walks ahead, leaving behind her surprise party member.

"H-Hold! Is that true on my lady?"

"Now I remember - it's one of them beta testers, isn't it?!" Chat instantly hears from the side while catching up to Ladybug. His partner hears this and turns to a small group of 4 players with conniving smirks on them.

"Look, isn't him? One of the 8 people chosen to beta this stupid death trap we're in?!"

"Hmm, it sure does look like him. Blonde hair and a black mask. Just like what the pamphlet says. Not like none of the betas could change what their mask looked like anyways."

"Hey you! Is it true?! Are you a beta tester? Did you know this would have happened?!" Chat Noir cringed and looked away, gritting his teeth to hold back his anger.

"C'mon, it's ok, it's not like anything will change" one of the men said. "We're all still **stuck here** after all!"

"Stop it!" Ladybug shouts. She runs back to Chat and positions herself in between him and the players. "Leave him alone! If he knew, he wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"Girl, move aside" another commands. "There's no place for the likes of you here."

"You back off! Chat Noir is part of my party! There's no need to fight like this!"

"Heh- Why in the world would you let the likes of **him** join with you anyways?! Don't you remember the week after being trapped in this game?!"

One of the players hold up a pamphlet and lightly taps it, "Our player-run issues made their first headline with the reveal of the beta testers of MMO, and how they had a part in our demise. You said his name was Chat Noir, right? All the more proof, along with his black mask, that he is a beta tester!"

"You're really a fool, aren't you? Did you think you would come back to 'save us' because you know how the game works?!"

"That's not true-"

"Please. Spare us of your pity. If you think that plan was going to work, you should have at least changed your name before coming back. Who knew one of your own would betray you like this in the first place?"

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Everyone, even Chat, looked back at Ladybug.

"If you're looking for a fight, then let's take it outside" she says with a glare. "Any more of your banter, and I'll call the town guards here. Fighting is, except in official duels with standard ruling, not allowed in towns, especially with all of your inappropriate behavior."

"Why you-" The four reach for their weapons as well as Ladybug, but Chat puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry everyone, excuse my partner here. She's, as you can see, a bit feisty" he says with a smile.

"Chat! There's no need to-"

"I think there's plenty of things here to stop. I, too, agree, but this isn't the time and place for this. We're very sorry gentlemen, please excuse us." Chat Noir moves his arm around Ladybug's shoulders and walk away to their original destination with the irritated players behind them.

"Yeah that's right, RUN AWAY YOU COWARD! THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE!" one of them yells. Ladybug tries to look back, but Chat stops her.

"It's ok my lady. You've done more than enough for me."

"But Chat-" Ladybug stopped when Chat did as he smiled at her with an honest and tired look.

"Thank you, Ladybug." He saw Ladybug wanting to say something, but chose not to, which he was glad for. Instead, he took her to the inn and let go of his partner.

"Today has certainly been a long day hasn't it? You go on and get some rest now my lady. With the extra earnings you got from the dungeon, you should have more than enough for a room here."

"What about you?"

"I don't feel that tired myself yet, so I'm going for a little walk."

"Liar. You're not tired after what just happened?"

"Don't worry my lady."

"Of course I'll be worried! What if you meet up with more people like them?!"

"My lady," he puts his hands on her shoulders, "It's ok. It's really getting dark now. Not a lot of players came in after us, so I won't be encountering anymore people. Besides, we'll need plenty of rest for tomorrow's expedition, so should you go on ahead and rest up while you can."

"But-" Chat lets go and moves past her.

"Good night my lady. Hope you'll appear in my dreams as well." He uses his skill **DASH** and seemingly teleports out of the town, leaving his partner behind.

"Idiot."

* * *

Chat Noir, rather than going back to the inn, chose to camp out in the woods outside the town walls. He stares into the fire he made with the camping gear he bought.

 _Now that I think about it_ , he thought, _I always wanted to camp like this since I never had the chance when I was younger._

Chat moves from the fire to the sky, which was partially blocked by the trees around him. _I was so excited to sleep in the open like this. It was one of my happier memories before those pamphlets spread all over like insects. I was about to enjoy my first night in an inn too! Why did this have to happen?!_

"...Ladybug must think I'm such a loser now" Chat says out loud with a sigh.

"Well not because of those people back there, but how you just left me at the inn. Honestly Chat, I thought you were better than this." Chat's eyes widen as he looks back to see Ladybug with a sleeping bag under one of her arms and a basket in her hands. She walks to settle next to him, carelessly dropping her stuff with Chat's eyes following her every movement.

"Plus you lied to me," she follows up. "Keep in mind that I don't like liars."

"I-I… I don't think I ever mentioned going back to the inn" he said, not knowing what to do. Unfortunately, what he got back was a glare as he gulps and looks back at the fire.

"S-Sorry. That wasn't what I meant to say, a-and it was rather rude of me to do that."

"...It's fine… Is it ok if I sleep out here with you?"

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in the inn? It's much warmer there."

"True, but there are merits to camping. You get this amazing view of the stars" Ladybug responds while looking up. "A few branches are in the way, but it's nice. It's like we're not in a game anymore."

"...I guess" Chat answers back smiling. Ladybug looks back at Chat with her own smile while he was distracted.

"Have you always camped out here?"

"Yeah, I guess. Even before the pamphlets came. It got a bit harder though because of the rumors."

"Oh…" she says, looking away, and he saw it all.

 _Oh no, why did I say that?_ Chat panicked in his mind. _Bad Chat, BAD! Quick, start a new conversation!_

"So Ladybug- "

"Oh yeah, are you hungry? I got us some stuff from the market." Ladybug rummages through the basket and pulls out a red jar and a spoon, settling it in between them before grabbing two loaves of bread. "Here" she says, holding out one of them to Chat.

"Ah, thank you." He takes it into his hands and bites it.

"So fluffy" he instinctively said out loud.

"You should try it with this jam," she says while holding the jar. Ladybug opens it and slabs some of it with the spoon. "Sorry, they ran out of knives, but this strawberry jam is very good."

"Ok." They eat in peace with bread and jam, the stars as their only witness while they converse through the night. The mood lightened up a bit, but midway through the meal Chat's face turned serious.

"Thank you Ladybug, but really though, you don't need to worry about what happened my lady."

"Stop that Chat. It's ok to feel sad you know, especially around friends."

"F-Friends?"

"Yeah. We are friends, aren't we? Since that day when you saved me from those golems and paired up with me to find the floor dungeon. You can still be annoying though."

Chat Noir scoffed at the last bit. "I'm offended my lady. And here I was trying to 'im-purr-ess' the lady before me."

"Well you're probably trying too hard there" she sarcastically answers with a smile. "But honestly, before you came, I almost gave up on all this. This game, our situation, and, to some extent, my life as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to hang out with my cousin who lives in another part of France. She and I love to play games, and that was how we stayed connected when she moved away. When she told me she got MMO, I helped my parents to get money for this game so we can meet again even if it's not actually us. But then that day happened, and I couldn't find her. I forgot to give her my player name, and there's surely other coccinelles out there… I was getting frustrated."

"Ladybug."

"Part of the reason why I joined the search was so my name would be known, so some way it would reach my cousin and we would meet again, but I got careless and I wasn't thinking of fighting back. Then you came and then all of this happened, both the good and bad memories we made. I'm glad that we met despite the circumstances."

"I'm really glad to have met you to Ladybug, although things would have been easier for you if I wasn't a beta tester."

"None of that matters Chat." Ladybug moves closer and takes Chat's hand into hers. "It doesn't make up who you really are. You're still that silly yet great fighter I've known these few weeks. So thank you, Chat Noir, for being there for me and sticking by my side. I'm also here when you need me. Just be honest to yourself is all I ask."

Chat didn't think it would happen since they were in a game, yet a tear was escaping down his cheek. Sniffles were ensured upon his partner's kindness; he wanted to talk but he couldn't bear to look at her. Nevertheless, she let him rest on her shoulder as she held on to him gently like a mother could.

"There there. It's ok kitty" she whispered as she soothed his back.

"Heh- I'm so pathetic" he whispered back, tightening his hold on her cape.

"No you're not. You're strong. You were right to run away from those people. There weren't worth the time."

"…Thank you Ladybug. You're awesome."

"…I know" she answered confidently. Tears turned into a small chuckle from her partner's lips. She laughed when he did. Then he did as she continued laughing. The duo laughed through the night till slumber arose their thoughts, and rested when it was the time.

This was how the two met, and how they became friends.


End file.
